Who: Brooke Williams
What: Activist/writer/founding member Resistance Revival Chorus and also Editor at Large for Brownstone Cowboy (!!)
Where: @thisisauthentic
We thought you’d also like to know that Brooke lives is Brooklyn, NY with her husband and daughter, was a National Organizer for the 2017 Women’s March, and co-wrote and sang with Beastie Boys on Hello Nasty. You can check out Brooke’s BSC Conversation with cultural organizer Sarah Sophie Flicker, and listen to them both singing with the Resistance Revival Chorus on their album This Joy.
01. Three words that describe you?
Generous, intuitive, specific
02. What’s your best and worst quality?
I’m thinking my best and worst qualities might be the same thing— I have lots of interests. On the best side, it means I am super curious, can relate to all sorts of different things and people, am always reaching out to understand what others are thinking and how they are feeling, etc. On the worst side, I can be scattered in a thousand different directions and don’t manage to find the time to go deep on particular subjects.
03. Quality you most admire in a person?
Generosity of spirit and the ability to make everyone feel welcome, supported and heard.
04. Greatest love of your life?
My husband and my daughter, of course. ;-)
05. Secret talent or a skill or trait you wish you had?
I would like to be fluent in all languages. Including reading music, computer languages, all animals, trees…
06. A piece of clothing or item that has a story behind it, what is it and what’s the story?
I am a member of the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of over 70 women and non-binary singers who breathe joy and life into the resistance, and uplift and center women’s voices. We all wear white when we perform, and one of my current RRC “uniforms” is the 1980’s white flapper style Laura Ashley dress that I bought with my mother and wore for my high school graduation. It was such a transformative moment for me, and there is something really powerful about carrying that energy with me today during another extremely transformative moment in the life of the world.
07. Share with us the last meme that made you laugh out loud.
This Valentine’s Day post might be my all-time favorite.
08. What’s one recent change you’ve made to live more consciously?
I’ve started writing old school thank you notes, putting them in envelopes and mailing them. It forces me to slow down (because otherwise my handwriting is horrible!) express gratitude, which is always a good thing to do, and getting a personal note in the mail is such a gift these days.
09. Place where you are happiest?
Physically: off the grid on a small island off the mid coast of Maine. Or maybe swimming in the Caribbean. Spiritually: surrounded by my close friends and family— preferably working together on a project we all care about.
10. What is a cause you believe in and what’s an organization that supports it that you’d like people to know about?
I believe in a better life for everyone everywhere. Which makes it hard to narrow it down to one particular cause (see my best/worst qualities answer above) That said, if we don’t have a planet to live on, all other problems will be moot, so I’m focusing my energy these days on fighting for climate justice. One organization that I have recently become aware of is The All We Can Save Project, which is a climate community that is “rooted in the work and wisdom of women.” Their website welcomes all comers to the feminist climate renaissance, centers the voices of women and BIPOC change makers and they are a collective of motivated people working to create just solutions. I feel better just knowing they exist.
11 (extra credit). Podcast you are listening to these days?
The other day I found myself stuck in the Worst. Traffic. Ever. while on my way to pick up my daughter from school. To avoid potential road rage, I desperately opened the podcast app and selected On Being because it was the first thing that popped up (and I’m not good at driving and scrolling at the same time). The episode that appeared was (and still is) called A Cognitive Skill to Magnify Humanity and it is Krista Tibbet (the host) in conversation with Trabian Shorters about his concept of Asset Framing, a narrative model that defines people by their assets and aspirations before noting the challenges and deficits they may be subject to. Calling someone a “young scholar” for example, instead of an “at risk youth” can make all the difference. Such a simple concept and yet so profound. I felt my brain explode. Everyone should listen to it.
Thank you! ;)
